The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

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The good news for Samsung over in Britain is that a judge says the company’s three Galaxy tablets aren’t rip-offs of Apple’s iPad. The bad news is that they’re not copies because they’re just like, so uncool and couldn’t possibly be edgy enough to be mistaken for an iPad by anyone who knows anything about cool stuff.

In the middle of Samsung and Apple’s big fight in England, the judge said today in London court that consumers aren’t likely to get the tablets mixed up, reports Bloomberg. That’s because the Galaxy tablets “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.” Pray, go on!

“They are not as cool,” he added.

Apple is currently embroiled in patent lawsuits around the world with various other smartphone makers, including Samsung. Each company has accused the other of copying designs and technology in mobile devices.

Samsung doesn’t seem to care if it’s cool or not, saying the ruling affirms what it’s been saying all along — it’s not doing any infringing on Apple’s design rights.

“Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited,” Samsung said in a statement.

Oh, snap…?

Meanwhile, Apple didn’t take the chance to strut and preen over its coolness, and didn’t specifically address the ruling.

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad,” Apple spokesman Alan Hely said in a statement. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property.”